[from catalogue]

In 2013, Samuel Riera - along with Derbis Campos, biochemist and photographer - funded Art Brut Project Cuba, currently the only Cuban project dedicated to art brut and outsider art. This project supports more than 45 artists from different parts of the country. All have worked independently for many years and are encouraged to continue working with the materials and techniques they have developed themselves, to ensure the uniqueness of their creative processes.

Despite the challenges faced by independent studios in Cuba, including economic and political difficulties, RIERA STUDIO and Art Brut Project Cuba have continued to foster the development and recognition of outsider art as part of Cuba’s national cultural heritage. Riera’s dedication and passion for promoting marginalized artists and their work have contributed significantly to the recognition of outsider art in Cuba and beyond.

Following an international exhibition at the Outsider Art Museum in Amsterdam, Samuel Riera decides to contact Galerie Atelier Herenplaats in 2018. It is at that moment that a fruitful collaboration between Galerie Atelier Herenplaats and RIERA STUDIO was born, both inspired by artists with an authentic eloquence, and with a common vision of art outside the marginalized circuit. The first physical exchange will take place in 2023 in the form of two exhibitions, both in Rotterdam and Havana.